A Blog About Making Culture
Is Pidgin the Firefox of IM?
April 26, 2007
Pidgin, formerly GAIM, is the best instant messaging client available; It works with all common IM networks, supports extensions and customizations through plugins, has smart and simple default settings, runs on all common desktop platforms, and is a free open source application. Being so similar to Firefox in so many ways, this leaves the application poised to become the "Firefox of IM".
Pidgin has a somewhat complex history. Originally named "GTK+ AOL Instant Messenger" after the network it was designed to connect to and the window UI toolkit (!) that it used to display itself, the name of the application has been in flux for years due to legal posturing from AOL. In the intermediate years, the name became somewhat anachronistic anyway, as the application added support for MSN, Yahoo, ICQ, Jabber, and other chat services in addition to AOL's AIM service.
Now, the last time an essential open source internet client shed its geeky name in favor of one that was more approachable, Phoenix became Firebird and later Firefox. The evolution of the naming of these clients doesn't just reflect the incessant legal sniping over IP and branding that a lot of small projects face, but is also a measure of a focus on the image of the projects. This is somewhat atypical for a lot of open source projects, as some contributors can see a focus on branding as irrelevant to, or even contradictory to, making a good product. But while the Pidgin site lacks some of the slickness and polish of the Firefox site, it's still miles better than the standard "choose a SourceForge mirror for your tarball"-style experience that a lot of comparable projects present to the world.
The renaming to Pidgin also reflects the 2.0 release of the program, a significant milestone that reflects a modularization of the application's underlying architecture, as well as support for additional communications networks. But of course, there are other applications which support each of Pidgin's features, including the clients created by the IM services themselves. Even other third-party clients, like Trillian, support a range of networks as well as many more features than Pidgin includes out of the box.
But where Pidgin's UI is spare, even underdesigned, Trillian commits errors such as the worst default preference setting in the history of modern computer software, a misfeature which automatically links some terms in your conversation to Wikipedia articles. With competition that's trying to pass regular expression stunts off as user benefits, it's no wonder that Pidgin's simplicity seems like a breath of fresh air.
And if you want that sort of complexity, there's a very healthy ecosystem of third-party plugins and extensions to customize Pidgin. Many of them are oriented around practical needs like deeper integration with Windows than is possible with a generic cross-platform client.
In short, the parallels between Firefox and the new Pidgin are undeniable. In a field crowded with proprietary, confusing clients that are tied to individual networks, Pidgin reflects the reality that all of us are connected to more than one network. And despite the rush to try to convert all desktop applications into Ajax-powered web equivalents, there is still ample proof from Firefox's example that powerful, smart, extensible desktop applications are an essential part of the Internet's evolution as well.
All that remains to be seen is if Pidgin will succeed in capturing attention and inspiring innovation in the same manner as its open source sibling.
Previously: MeowChat and PetSpeak
Merlinox
I use Miranda IM from many years: marvellous. I never test Pidgin. Someone does test both?
Kevin
I’m dying to know the difference between Six Apart and SixApart, and who goes into which. Not to mention Peeps vs. friends vs. Buddies vs. folks.
Also, “runs on all common desktop platforms” may be a bit of an overstatement—you have to jump through some hoops to get it running under OS X, and they don’t appear to recommend/support it.
Mickaël Rémond
I think OneTeam is going to become the Firefox of IM: http://www.process-one.net/en/oneteam/
Develop in the same technology, easily extensible in Javascript. Same recipe for the success.
Matt Haughey
Bummer this app is only out for linux and windows, if it worked on a mac too it really could become the firefox of IM.
Peter
Matt: see Adium (www.adiumx.com). Many of the protocols that Adium supports run on Pidgin.
Rod Begbie
Matt: repeating the mention of Adium (http://www.adiumx.com/) which is a lovely Mac-like UI built on top of the open-source messaging core of Gaim.
ryank
When I was on a Windows machine, I was always using GAIM - the simple benefit of tabbed IMing was wonderful.
I think a lot of Firefox’s success is due to the use of it over IE for security features. In my experience, AIM hasn’t been wrought with automatically installing toolbars (although those ads sure are annoying, and there is the occasional virus), so the fact that it isn’t such a pain in the ass to use will probably keep Pidgin on the desktops of…dare I say…nerds.
On my college campus, I would find it hard to picture many students using ANYTHING other than AIM, it is so entrenched, using it is like a natural skill honed during hours of avoiding doing work.
Anil
Six Apart and SixApart, and who goes into which. Not to mention Peeps vs. friends vs. Buddies vs. folks.
I knew I was setting myself up for examination of my idiosyncratic buddy list. :) Six Apart is where the AIM names of coworkers live, and then the SixApart group is pre-populated with the names of our internal Jabber server that we run on djabberd. (That means you can IM me on LJTalk or Google Talk or any other jabber system as anil@sixapart.com.)
“Peeps” are my close friends. “Friends” are people whom I regularly chat with whom I’ve met in person. “Buddies” are people whom I regularly chat with that I don’t know in person, and “Folks” are people whom I chat with infrequently and don’t know in person, or whom I just don’t like. :)
“Incoming” is for strangers who’ve just IMed me out of the blue in the past couple weeks; I tend to purge that list (or, rarely, move them up into Folks or Buddies) every once in a while.
pwb
Surprisingly lousy Mac proposition makes Pidgin a bit of a non-starter.
walljm
What’s even cooler about Pidgen, formally known as GAIM, is that the C library libpurple which is Pidgen’s core library is also available for other people to make different skins and whatnot with. Libpurple, formally, libgaim, was used to create the outstanding webchat service www.meebo.com.
The Angry Medic
Trillian does WHAT?!
I may just be just a technologically (and possibly mentally) challenged medic, but even I know that’s a big no-no.
And yep, if the dude above hadn’t asked about your IM contact organisation, I would have. :)
clee
It’s also worth noting that the library that Pidgin uses is also the basis of Adium.
Bill
Sure, trillian underlines words in your conversations that correspond to wikipedia articles. If you mouseover the word for more info, it gives you a Wikipedia summary of the word.
How is this not useful? Every programmer/office worker I know loves this feature, as it gives quick access to definitions for technical/uncommon terms. It’s like an IQ-extender, man!
Anyways, it can be turned off. If you don’t like it, disable it!
Jeff Daigle
One of my favorite things about internet communities is their celebration of the absurd.
I couldn’t help but wonder if this type of thing had any precedent in other communications technologies, and found (via kottke) this article from 1902 on telegraph slang:
http://www.telegraph-office.com/pages/Telegraph_Talk-McClure-1902.html
Jonathan
I just installed pidgin. Seems nice. It could sure use webcam support. I don’t think any app in linux has webcam support. It is one of the areas that linux really needs to focus on.
Kingsley Joseph
Bah, software. If it’s plain IM, meebo.com rocks in the browser.
Chris
The main drawback to Pidgin, Adium, MirandaIM, etc…is that they lack the advanced features such a webcam. While Trillian Pro is the only 3rd party client I know of that supports them, and its not free and only available on windows.
Just FYI, Adium is based on Pidgin.
Anonymous
Of course Webcam is supported with Linux Apps. Kopete supports both sending and receiving Webcam, aMSN Messenger also supports sending and receiving.
Rob
I’m both a windows and mac user. While there is no Pidgin/Gaim for mac, Adium is built off it (and has an amazing UI). Trillian is a viable option, but I find it has too much bloat. Miranda is a complete pain in the arse to get how you like, but once you do it’s pretty good.
But all in all, if you have a mac use Adium there’s no contest, if you have a PC you have to decide if you want all the bloat of trillian,the simplicity of pidgin, or the customization of miranda.
Anonymous
I don’t understand how it’s so hard for someone to just steal a bit of another project’s code and use it. Please would the Pidgin people shamelessly steal aMSNs webcam / emoticon / doodle screen features and implement them. They are so useful!
Or aMSN steal pidgins great integration and desktop awareness (example: the icon that never stays in the tray and general stability)
Alexandre
They will NOT accept code for webcam. Pidgin developers don’t like it, and don’t give a damn for everyone else’s opinion.
There is code for webcam since gaim 0.7, and they keep refusing every bit of it. More than once it was tried.
Spam Banjo
Pidgin is amazing. I found it thanks to another great microsoft alternative, Ubuntu. Ubuntu is a the first really user friendly linux, and comes bundled with some great software & games, including gaim/pidgin. It is 100% free and the installer will set up dual boot automatically 99 times from 100. Providing you have an active internet connection, it’s never been easier to find out why people love Linux so much. If you have an old machine, Xubuntu is optimised for around 192mb ram!!!! There’s no excuses… Go get that old yellow P3-700 out of the garage and give it a go!!!!
Sergio
My experience with Miranda was not a good one. While it initially looks neat, the version I used lacked “chatroom” capability (IRC, aim chatrooms etc) and the only way to do it was with extremely non-standard plugins - each plugin basically reinventing the wheel and looking different and not even being able to interact with other plugins like smileys.
Pidgin/gaim OTOH has had full room functionality from scratch so it’s easier to customize to your liking.
metala
[quote] I use Miranda IM from many years: marvellous. I never test Pidgin. Someone does test both? [/quote]
I have given a test to Miranda, it’s too much customization for a IM. I think Miranda is more customizable, but Pidgin, formerly GAIM, is what i prefer, cause i don’t need any sophisticated customization, i need a general purpose multi-protocol client. Currently pidgin.exe is using 17 420 KB Mem Usage and 7 840k VM Size
Rombo
Pidgin is the Opera of IM :D
Rich
If it’s true that the developers simply don’t want to include webcam features, that’s a bit of a shame. It’s slated for v3, according to the Pidgin site. Meanwhile, having spent years patiently switching my family over to open source browser, mail client and heaven only knows what else, they now have webcams and I’m having to let them go with MSN or YM. Aaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrggggggggghhhhh!!!
Anonymous
Pidgin really needs voice chat and webcam support. With that, it’s a killer app. Kopete is open source and has them, so why not just take a bit of that code and put it into Pidgin?? And if the programmers are scared of it getting bloated, then just make it an optional plugin. I don’t care how they do it, but until it becomes a part of pidgin, it’s Kopete for me, despite the fact that I prefer many other things about Pidgin.
Anonymous
And to add one more thing to my post above… On windows, I use pidgin, but when people want webcam and voice chat, I have to use MSN Messenger!!!! That piece of shit. Please save me, Pidgin developers!!
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